The Vacation

Chapter 2: The Destination

The car slowly turned onto a narrow, pot-hole filled dirt road. Pebbles hit the underside of the car as the tires dug up the earth and the bumps created a lovely butt message for me, and apparently my sister, who seemed to be enjoying herself.

My dad, however, looked less pleased. He just sat there, stone faced, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. It was kind of scary.

I pried my eyes off my dad and peered out the window. The road had woods on either side of it, mostly of pine. I saw a flash of a squirrel climbing up a tree as we flew by.

'How fast is he going?!' I thought to myself, getting a bit worried.

I craned my neck around my dad's seat and looked at the speedometer. My eyes bugged out of my head as I saw how fast he was going.

He was going 70mph down a dirt road! Is he crazy?!

"Dad! Slow down!" I yelled at him.

Without taking his eyes off the road (Thank God) he bitterly chuckled and replied "We're here."

I looked through the windshield to see where was 'here'. I was greeted by the sight of a large, homey-looking farm house. It had a huge porch and was painted white with a goldish colored trim. I wished I lived in a house like that. But with a balcony....and a pool...and a trampoline...and.......

I was snapped back to reality by my sister's giggles. I then realized I had my mouth wide open, staring at the house. I quickly shut it and wiped the small trickle of drool that had leaked from my mouth.

My dad pulled the car up to the house, parking just in front of the porch.

"Is this where we are staying??" I asked excitedly. I had been so worried that we were going to stay in the city. Yuck.

"It sure is!" Violetta answered, who was just as excited as I was.

I leaped from the car and scanned the area. There was a barn just out behind the house and several large pastures covering the wide-open fields. Several horses stood grazing by a lone oak tree in the middle of the pasture. It was a beautiful scene.

I took a deep breath. The air smelled of horses and freshly-baked bread. I was really going to like it here.

"So what do you think?" My dad asked me, smiling for the first time since we got here.

"I love it!" I replied excitedly. My dad looked like he had a ton of bricks lifted from his shoulders. Was that what he was worried about this whole time?? That I wouldn't like it here?? Then it suddenly occurred to me. He did this just for me. I ran over and gave him a tight hug, burying my face in his chest.

"Thank you so much for bringing us here, Dad." I whispered. He stroked my hair and said, "Your welcome, sweety."

Our moment was interrupted by the porch door squeaking open. I quickly looked up to see a middle-aged women step out of the house. She was wearing a pair of jeans and black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"Well, hello. Are you the Stevens?" She asked in a sweet tone.

"Yes we are!" My father replied, enthusiastically.

"Get your stuff and come right with me." She said motioning towards the house. "I'll send my son Sean out to help you." The lady ducked her head in the house and yelled "SEAN! GET DOWN HERE!!"

I walked over to the car and attempted to pull my suitcase from the trunk. How the hell did I get this thing in here?! I put my foot up on the car and pulled as hard as I could. Bad idea.

The next thing I knew, I was soaring through the air, suitcase in hand, and landed flat on my back. Stupid suitcase. I suddenly heard laughter coming from all around me. I looked up to see not only my father, Violeta, and Sofie laughing at me, but the lady and a strange guy who looked to be about my age laughing at me, too.

I scowled at them as a stood up and brushed the dirt off my jeans. "It wasn't that funny!" I yelled.

"Yes.....it....was!" Choked out the guy between laughs.

I huffed and began to march towards the house, trying to look as dignified as possible. When I reached the door, the lady cleared her throat, composing herself after her laughing fit.

"Right this way, dear." She said, motioning me towards the door.